WideBase™: why every STAASH balance board is 39 cm wide

On a balance board, your feet are your only contact with the deck. Every correction you make starts at the heel or at the toes. If one of them hangs over the edge, you lose support exactly where you need it most, and you end up balancing on a strip of wood instead of standing on a platform.

So the width of the deck is not a styling detail. It decides how much of your foot actually works. I designed WideBase around one rule: heel and toes stay on the wood, every time you step on.

To choose a width, I did not guess. I used the largest foot dataset I know of: Jurca et al., published in Scientific Reports in 2019, based on 1.2 million 3D foot scans. In Europe, the most common barefoot foot length is:

• 27 cm for men
• 24.5 cm for women

These are not extreme values. They are the lengths you meet most often. A board that is uncomfortable for a 27 cm foot is uncomfortable for a large share of the people who will use it.

In the surf stance, the most common way to ride a balance board, your feet are placed across the deck, not along it. The width of the board has to hold the full length of your foot.

The WideBase deck is 39 cm at its widest point, and it stays wide towards the ends, where your feet usually go. A 27 cm foot fits across it entirely, barefoot or in shoes.

Most wooden balance boards are 30 to 35 cm at their widest. With a 27 cm foot, that leaves very little room, and even less towards the ends, where every deck gets narrower.

That room is the difference between standing on the board and perching on it. Your heel and your toes stay on the wood, so every correction goes into the deck instead of into the air.

A narrow deck gives you one way to stand. With 39 cm, you have two:

• From the side (surf stance). Feet across the deck, body side-on. The board tilts from one foot to the other. This is the position for surf-style balance, squats and static holds.
• From the front. You face the end of the board, feet side by side. The board tilts from heel to toe, which works your ankles in another direction.

In both positions, the whole foot rests on the wood. That is the point of WideBase: the width serves every exercise, not just one.

A wide deck only makes sense if everything under it is built to the same standard. Here is what makes up a STAASH board.

12 layers of birch

The deck is made of 12 layers of birch: 10 plies plus 2 decorative veneers, so the grain is visible on top and underneath. It is 15 mm thick, varnished, weighs about 3 kg and holds up to 150 kg. I explain why I chose wood over plastic in Wood vs plastic balance board.

Sanded edges

The edges of the deck are sanded and softened. You step on barefoot, you put your hands on it for push-ups: no sharp corner under your skin.

High-density cork roller with bevelled edges

The roller is 45 cm long, Ø 10 cm, made of high-density agglomerated cork. Its edges are bevelled, like those of the half-moon and the cork discs. A bevelled edge chips far less than a sharp one, so the cork keeps its shape longer. Birch and cork are both recyclable.

A reversible half-moon

The Pro Kit includes a reversible cork half-moon. On the flat side, it forms a stable base. On the curved side, it adds a slight tilt. You progress step by step, without jumping straight to a full roll. That matters: Gebel et al. (2019, Frontiers in Physiology) showed that leg muscle activity increases as the balance board setting gets harder. Adjusting the difficulty is how you keep training effective.

Anti-slip mat

On tiles or parquet, a board on its own moves. The Pro Kit mat locks it in place, protects your floor and protects the board. I learned this the hard way:

“On tiles or parquet, a board without a mat slides, shoots off and scratches the floor. I found out in my very first session: scratched parquet, damaged edges. Our anti-slip mat locks the board in place and protects your floor and your board. Above all, you feel much more secure.”

— Kevin, founder of STAASH

• 39 cm at the widest point
• 79 cm long deck
• 12 layers of birch
• 150 kg maximum load
• Ø 10 cm high-density cork roller

If you want the evidence behind balance training — frequency, duration, what the studies measured — read Balance training: what science says. To compare materials, read Wood vs plastic balance board. Choosing your first board? The balance board buying guide walks you through it, and your first 10 minutes on a balance board gets you started.

Every STAASH board is a WideBase board. The Balance Board Pro Kit gives you the complete set: the 39 cm birch deck, the cork roller, the reversible half-moon, the anti-slip mat and access to the free training app. Prefer to start simple? The base kit uses the same deck. Both come with a lifetime guarantee. See all balance boards.

• Jurca A. et al. (2019). Analysis of 1.2 million foot scans from North America, Europe and Asia. Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-55432-z
• Gebel A., Lüder B., Granacher U. (2019). Frontiers in Physiology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31551811/